mankind for all time to come. You’ll see soon enough. Right now, we have to get back to
the city. I have some very important guests to meet for breakfast, and I need you to be there with me to get to know them. I’m sure that you’d like to meet the Florida
governor?’
‘The governor?’ Aubrey almost choked. ‘Is he involved in the conservation effort?’
Joaquin chuckled.
‘Not yet, Dennis, but it’s time to make government work for the people and bring some balance back into their lives. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll be up to his
neck in it.’
Olaf’s broad jaw fractured like a glacier into a broad grin.
12
HALLANDALE, MIAMI
June 28, 9:34
Ethan stared at the mirror on the wall of the motel room, captivated by the reflection.
‘What are you talking about?’ Lopez asked. ‘You see something?’
Ethan nodded, tilting his head to one side and looking at the strange symbols written on the wall above the window, and then looking again at the reflection in the mirror.
‘It’s not an equation,’ he said finally. ‘I need a piece of paper.’
Sears reached into his pocket and provided Ethan with a small notepad and a pen. Ethan leaned on a table and copied down what he saw in the mirror before showing it to Lopez.
N2764C
She scanned the figures and frowned.
‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ she said. ‘It’s just junk.’
Ethan grinned and reached out to tap her head with his knuckles.
‘Don’t tell me you can’t see it. What do we know about Charles Purcell’s father?’
Kyle Sears stared at the symbols.
‘Looks familiar somehow,’ he said.
‘Purcell’s father was a physicist too, but he died in a plane crash in the Bermuda Triangle, right?’ Lopez said. ‘Still doesn’t add up to much.’
‘Yes it does,’ Sears replied as he suddenly recognized the configuration. ‘Tail code? I drive past O’Hare airport virtually every day and I’m sure I’ve seen
codes like that on small aircraft.’
‘November two-seven-six-four-charlie,’ Ethan con firmed. ‘It’s a standard tail code for a civilian-operated aircraft in the United States. My sister got her pilot’s
license a few years ago, and she flies a light aircraft with a similar number.’
‘I’ll be damned,’ Kyle Sears said.
‘So will I,’ Lopez murmured as she looked at Ethan. ‘You never told me you have a sister.’
Ethan didn’t respond to her and turned instead to Captain Sears.
‘Whatever the reason, it seems that Charles Purcell wants us to follow the clues he’s leaving. You think you could check out that aircraft and find out where it is? My guess is that
it belonged to his father.’
‘I’ll get right on it.’
Sears left the room as Ethan stared up at the code on the wall.
‘Okay,’ Lopez said, ‘you’ve done good, but let’s not dwell on it. What’s your sister’s name?’
‘Natalie,’ he replied, still staring vacantly at the symbols on the wall.
‘How come you never mentioned her before?’
Ethan stared up at the wall and the code, but for a moment his thoughts switched to his family. His folks were both retired, his father from the Marine Corps and his mother from banking, living
out their lives in peaceful seclusion in the Chicago suburbs. Truth was, he saw them rarely and had only recently begun speaking to his father again, long after he’d resigned his commission
in the marines and ended his father’s dreams of a high-ranking son. Natalie was studying politics at college in New York City, shooting for a job at the White House last he’d heard.
There wasn’t much he could tell Lopez about any of them.
‘It never came up,’ he replied, dodging her question as deftly as he could.
‘That’s crap,’ Lopez scolded him. ‘You don’t talk about them, but I know that you’d have bugged out of the Windy City a long time ago if they weren’t
important to you.’
Ethan blinked. What
did
keep him in Illinois? He shrugged it off as he looked up at the
the city. I have some very important guests to meet for breakfast, and I need you to be there with me to get to know them. I’m sure that you’d like to meet the Florida
governor?’
‘The governor?’ Aubrey almost choked. ‘Is he involved in the conservation effort?’
Joaquin chuckled.
‘Not yet, Dennis, but it’s time to make government work for the people and bring some balance back into their lives. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll be up to his
neck in it.’
Olaf’s broad jaw fractured like a glacier into a broad grin.
12
HALLANDALE, MIAMI
June 28, 9:34
Ethan stared at the mirror on the wall of the motel room, captivated by the reflection.
‘What are you talking about?’ Lopez asked. ‘You see something?’
Ethan nodded, tilting his head to one side and looking at the strange symbols written on the wall above the window, and then looking again at the reflection in the mirror.
‘It’s not an equation,’ he said finally. ‘I need a piece of paper.’
Sears reached into his pocket and provided Ethan with a small notepad and a pen. Ethan leaned on a table and copied down what he saw in the mirror before showing it to Lopez.
N2764C
She scanned the figures and frowned.
‘It doesn’t mean anything,’ she said. ‘It’s just junk.’
Ethan grinned and reached out to tap her head with his knuckles.
‘Don’t tell me you can’t see it. What do we know about Charles Purcell’s father?’
Kyle Sears stared at the symbols.
‘Looks familiar somehow,’ he said.
‘Purcell’s father was a physicist too, but he died in a plane crash in the Bermuda Triangle, right?’ Lopez said. ‘Still doesn’t add up to much.’
‘Yes it does,’ Sears replied as he suddenly recognized the configuration. ‘Tail code? I drive past O’Hare airport virtually every day and I’m sure I’ve seen
codes like that on small aircraft.’
‘November two-seven-six-four-charlie,’ Ethan con firmed. ‘It’s a standard tail code for a civilian-operated aircraft in the United States. My sister got her pilot’s
license a few years ago, and she flies a light aircraft with a similar number.’
‘I’ll be damned,’ Kyle Sears said.
‘So will I,’ Lopez murmured as she looked at Ethan. ‘You never told me you have a sister.’
Ethan didn’t respond to her and turned instead to Captain Sears.
‘Whatever the reason, it seems that Charles Purcell wants us to follow the clues he’s leaving. You think you could check out that aircraft and find out where it is? My guess is that
it belonged to his father.’
‘I’ll get right on it.’
Sears left the room as Ethan stared up at the code on the wall.
‘Okay,’ Lopez said, ‘you’ve done good, but let’s not dwell on it. What’s your sister’s name?’
‘Natalie,’ he replied, still staring vacantly at the symbols on the wall.
‘How come you never mentioned her before?’
Ethan stared up at the wall and the code, but for a moment his thoughts switched to his family. His folks were both retired, his father from the Marine Corps and his mother from banking, living
out their lives in peaceful seclusion in the Chicago suburbs. Truth was, he saw them rarely and had only recently begun speaking to his father again, long after he’d resigned his commission
in the marines and ended his father’s dreams of a high-ranking son. Natalie was studying politics at college in New York City, shooting for a job at the White House last he’d heard.
There wasn’t much he could tell Lopez about any of them.
‘It never came up,’ he replied, dodging her question as deftly as he could.
‘That’s crap,’ Lopez scolded him. ‘You don’t talk about them, but I know that you’d have bugged out of the Windy City a long time ago if they weren’t
important to you.’
Ethan blinked. What
did
keep him in Illinois? He shrugged it off as he looked up at the
Similar Books
